This post is by Tamar Auber from Mediaite
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On Saturday, Twitter slammed President Donald Trump for an apparent reference to the Trail of Tears in a tweet mocking Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
“Today Elizabeth Warren, sometimes referred to by me as Pocahontas, joined the race for President. Will she run as our first Native American presidential candidate, or has she decided that after 32 years, this is not playing so well anymore?” Trump wrote.
He then added this line: “See you on the campaign TRAIL, Liz!”
Twitter quickly slammed Trump for making an insensitive joke referencing a painful time in American history, the relocation of Native American tribes, known as the Trail of Tears. Some noted that the president openly admires Andrew Jackson — who made the removal of Native Americans from their land a top legislative priority — so he likely knew exactly what he was doing when he wrote in all-caps “TRAIL.” Others noted Trump’s tweet was “another racial flareup.” Read what they are saying on Twitter below:Today Elizabeth Warren, sometimes referred to by me as Pocahontas, joined the race for President. Will she run as our first Native American presidential candidate, or has she decided that after 32 years, this is not playing so well anymore? See you on the campaign TRAIL, Liz!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2019
The joke here is that the Trail of Tears was a genocide. Get it? Get it? https://t.co/6wC5uwKnTa — Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) February 9, 2019
This motherfucker actively admires Andrew Jackson. He knows EXACTLY what he's saying when he "jokes" about the Trail of Tears. https://t.co/LqrEjd9cS1 — Emily Crockett (@emilycrockett) February 10, 2019
Thousands of Native Americans died on the Trail of Tears, which Trump appears to be jokingly referencing here https://t.co/zfM6SSUxCs — Cristiano Lima (@viaCristiano) February 9, 2019
Elizabeth Warren, like many white people from Oklahoma, held onto this family tale that she was part Native American. She apologized. Trump idolizes Andrew Jackson, is destroying native land and just made a joke about the Trail of Tears. https://t.co/3mzljx5Fdg — Thor Benson (@thor_benson) February 9, 2019
Republicans are totally uninterested in the nuanced debates about Warren's ancestry, as long as it means they get to use casual racist slurs against her https://t.co/9TwTu4o8Vx — David Klion (@DavidKlion) February 9, 2019
4000 Native Americans died on the Trail of Tears due to forced relocations under the Andrew Jackson administration. Trump decided to honor Navajo code talker vets in front of Andrew "Indian Killer" Jackson's portrait last year because of course. Now this… https://t.co/XbXGnlRS5J — Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) February 10, 2019
Just another racial flare up. https://t.co/XbXGnlRS5J — Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) February 10, 2019
Another. Racist. Tweet. The emphasized "TRAIL" refers to the Trail of Tears in which Native Americans were FORCED to march 1,000 miles to "Indian Territory." Their homes were looted by brutal colonizers and those same people watched thousands of them drop dead during the march. https://t.co/XqdlRMbmBp — antonio (@antoniodelotero) February 10, 2019
TRAIL as in Trail of Tears? You vile racist! https://t.co/PDkUfwVKyF — Jeffrey Guterman (@JeffreyGuterman) February 9, 2019
Pro tip: You don't need all caps, let your genocide pun sell itself. https://t.co/aalAgEYs0F — J. Elvis Weinstein (@JElvisWeinstein) February 10, 2019
I mean in addition to how awful this tweet is in general…is Trump making light of the Trail of Tears here? Because if so, that is sick. https://t.co/y0vUIQbPsW — Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) February 9, 2019